Unlike many model railroaders, my principal interest is passenger railroading (and in the modern day no less!). I'm a big fan of VIA Rail's operations in central and eastern Canada, particularly the Toronto--Ottawa-Montreal triangle, and the route of The Ocean from Montreal to Halifax.
Although my HO layout is still nothing more than a figment of my imagination, I hope that it will someday be able to represent VIA's Montreal Maintenance Centre, and trains going off to the east and west from there.
I already have been accumulating much of the necessary equipment, including P42s from Athearn, and modified/detailed F40PH-2s from Walthers. In terms of complete trains, I have enough of Rapido's LRC coaches and clubs to represent a typical Corridor consist (and will be adding many more in the future). I also have a full consist for The Ocean, using Walthers Budd Stainless steel cars (with some notable modifications, and a Con-Cor Park). The consist I have is:
F40PH-2 - F40PH-2 - Baggage - Coach (8111) - Coach (8105)- Coach (8112) - Skyline Dome - Diner (Acadian) - Sleeper - Sleeper - Sleeper - Park
The sleepers are Manors and should be Chateaus, but I'm satisfied (for now) with the stand-in.
In addition to this prototypical interest, I also have a freelanced, modern passenger operation running a direct link between Toronto and Ottawa. It's a small, but successful operation, running multiple daily trains led by ex-Amtrak F40s (in an inspiring white, bright blue and silver paint scheme) hauling short (3-4 car) trains of second-hand Budd and Amfleet coaches. The line offers connections with VIA's services, but is still very much in the business of competing (promising faster travel times and better service, direct from Toronto to Ottawa!). I have painted up much of the equipment for this railway (in the form of physical HO models), but it has remained (to this point) simply in my head. Despite the lack of an operating layout, this railway keeps running and up-to-date through an on-going journal, and all the imagining I can do :P
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Now while my dreams (both prototypical and freelanced) are in HO, I am currently working on a small N scale layout in my tiny apartment. It also has a passenger operations bent, but is actually modeled on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, with a pair of VIA RDCs running "Sydney-Halifax" service. It's a hypothetical setting, imagining that VIA did not cut this service at the start of the '90s, but instead kept it running (I only wish it were true...). It's essentially an elaborated, stretched-out figure-8 over-under layout, with some sidings (to throw in some freight ops) and a single station on a spur track that serves as both departure and destination. As much as I love the fast VIA Rail trains in the Toronto-Montreal corridor, there's something very relaxing about a couple of RDCs crawling at a leisurely pace through the Cape Breton highlands :)
-Tim
THayman Unlike many model railroaders, my principal interest is passenger railroading (and in the modern day no less!). I'm a big fan of VIA Rail's operations in central and eastern Canada, particularly the Toronto--Ottawa-Montreal triangle, and the route of The Ocean from Montreal to Halifax. Although my HO layout is still nothing more than a figment of my imagination, I hope that it will someday be able to represent VIA's Montreal Maintenance Centre, and trains going off to the east and west from there. I already have been accumulating much of the necessary equipment, including P42s from Athearn, and modified/detailed F40PH-2s from Walthers. In terms of complete trains, I have enough of Rapido's LRC coaches and clubs to represent a typical Corridor consist (and will be adding many more in the future). I also have a full consist for The Ocean, using Walthers Budd Stainless steel cars (with some notable modifications, and a Con-Cor Park). The consist I have is: F40PH-2 - F40PH-2 - Baggage - Coach (8111) - Coach (8105)- Coach (8112) - Skyline Dome - Diner (Acadian) - Sleeper - Sleeper - Sleeper - Park The sleepers are Manors and should be Chateaus, but I'm satisfied (for now) with the stand-in. In addition to this prototypical interest, I also have a freelanced, modern passenger operation running a direct link between Toronto and Ottawa. It's a small, but successful operation, running multiple daily trains led by ex-Amtrak F40s (in an inspiring white, bright blue and silver paint scheme) hauling short (3-4 car) trains of second-hand Budd and Amfleet coaches. The line offers connections with VIA's services, but is still very much in the business of competing (promising faster travel times and better service, direct from Toronto to Ottawa!). I have painted up much of the equipment for this railway (in the form of physical HO models), but it has remained (to this point) simply in my head. Despite the lack of an operating layout, this railway keeps running and up-to-date through an on-going journal, and all the imagining I can do :P ---------------------- Now while my dreams (both prototypical and freelanced) are in HO, I am currently working on a small N scale layout in my tiny apartment. It also has a passenger operations bent, but is actually modeled on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, with a pair of VIA RDCs running "Sydney-Halifax" service. It's a hypothetical setting, imagining that VIA did not cut this service at the start of the '90s, but instead kept it running (I only wish it were true...). It's essentially an elaborated, stretched-out figure-8 over-under layout, with some sidings (to throw in some freight ops) and a single station on a spur track that serves as both departure and destination. As much as I love the fast VIA Rail trains in the Toronto-Montreal corridor, there's something very relaxing about a couple of RDCs crawling at a leisurely pace through the Cape Breton highlands :)
When your layout is finally constructed, please take some pics of it for us.
Mr. LMD, Owner, founder
The Central Chicago & Illinois Railroad
Mr. LMD When your layout is finally constructed, please take some pics of it for us.
The HO one will be many years off in the future, although when I do get on to it I will be sure to take photos :P
As for the smaller N scale project, progress is actually coming along quite nicely. I was doing basic ground cover in the last couple of days, and it's starting to look pretty good. I'll try to get some photos soon to share, maybe for this weekend's WPF, we'll see :)
Mr. LMD @Texas Zepher The only I seen the UP 844 is in videos, Extreme Trains and Tracks Ahead, and that gave me the idea to give my RI 4-8-4 an auxilary tender as well.
@Texas Zepher
The only I seen the UP 844 is in videos, Extreme Trains and Tracks Ahead, and that gave me the idea to give my RI 4-8-4 an auxilary tender as well.
http://www.walkersquawker.net/UP844.htm
riogrande5761 I've heard other complaining bitterly about the Division Point Prospector cars - beautiful models but can't run them.
Division Point has announced another run. They announced this in December 2011, I just saw it yesterday. http://www.divisionpoint.com/DRGW_light2.html
Now I have to decide if the looks are good enough vs the electrical problems to get a dome in the four stripe scheme. I also wanted a 1240 baggage/dorm. sigh. I don't make money fast enough to keep up with all the offerings.
Mr. LMDto all the modelers who posted, how many passenger trains do you have or how many do you make (if you use switchers to make or break trains) a day to run?
On the Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe there are 8 scheduled passenger trains. The Texas Chief (trains #15 & #16), Trains #5 & #6 don't remember the name, The Kansas Citian (trains #212 and #211), and they meet two branchine passenger trains going to Shawnee and Lindsey. The occasionally we have a troop train or a football game special run through the middle of an operating session. Why? Because these are the trains that are prototypical for the area and time being modeled.
Another sad side note. The last operating session on the Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe (see cover Model Railroading June 2004) will be May. The owner is retired and moving to a new home. Layout will not be making the move.
Texas Zepher Mr. LMD: @Texas Zepher The only I seen the UP 844 is in videos, Extreme Trains and Tracks Ahead, and that gave me the idea to give my RI 4-8-4 an auxilary tender as well. Yes, sorry I am so spoiled being here in Denver I see it all the time. http://www.walkersquawker.net/UP844.htm
Mr. LMD: @Texas Zepher The only I seen the UP 844 is in videos, Extreme Trains and Tracks Ahead, and that gave me the idea to give my RI 4-8-4 an auxilary tender as well.
Yes, sorry I am so spoiled being here in Denver I see it all the time.
I found out a week ago i think, that my 4-8-4 is actually an oil burning locomotive so I will not have to worry about my locomotive needing two tenders unless I use an extra tender to simulate as a water tender.
Auxiliary tenders were used with large locomotives to provide higher fuel & water capacity so they could go farther without refueling.
The fact that your 4-8-4 is an oil burner has nothing to do with it "needed" an auxiliary tender, although it does make it possible. (A coal burner might be able to use water from an aux. tender, but not coal, since that would require some sort of complicated augur connection.)
A 4-8-4 also is more of a "medium" than "large" loco. I wouldn't think too many of those ever ran with aux. tenders, except for modern ones in excursion service like Canadian Pacific's "Empress", so that it can travel much farther without refills.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
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